that giveth himselfe to study as in him that is occupied in matters of the common-wealth as it is to bee seene in David and then may it truly be said that such a contemplative life is to bee preferred before all other kindes of life as that which leadeth to the true felicitie and beatitude or Summum bonum The contemplative or studious life hath been in such estimation among men that divers examples are registred in histories both of Heathens and Christians that have voluntarily forsaken the world and all societie of men to leade this kinde of life to whom many strange things have happened among the rest by the report of St. Ierome Anthonie being in the wildernesse met with a strange kinde of creature or monster that resembled a little man and a crooked nose a horned forehead whose lower parts ended into the feet of a goate who brought him dates to eate And when Anthonie asked him what he was he answered I am a mortall man one of the inhabitants of the wildernesse whom the foolish Gentiles worshipped being deluted with many erroneous opinions called them Fauni Satyri and Incubi I am the Embassador of my companions we desire thee to pray to our common God for us whom wee know is come for the salvation of the world which words were no sooner spoken but he seemed to flye away One reporteth of one Paul an Hermite that from the time he was sixteene yeares old untill threescore he lived in the desart with dates and from threescore unto an hundred and twenty at what time he died he was fed daily by a Crow who brought him bread by which he lived without any other sustenance Persius exciteth men thus to the contemplation of things to the love and exercise of vertue Discite O miseri causas cognoscite rerum Quid sumus aut quidnam victuri giguimur orde Quis datus aut metae quâ—…m victur flexus ordâ—… Quis modus argenti quid fas optare quid asper 〈◊〉 nummus habet patriae charisque propinquis Quantum elargiri deceat quexâ—… te Deus esse Iussit humanâ—… quâ parte locatus es in re O wretches learne the cause of things to know And what we be and why we were borne so And what to overcome what to order give And in what bounds and limits we should live How moderate coyne what justly to desire And being possest of money to enquire What use to make of it what we doe owe Vpon our kin or countrey to bestow With what endowments God would have us gracâ—… And in what part of mortall things we 're plact The end of the fourth Booke THE FELICITIE OF MAN OR HIS SVMMVM BONVM THE FIFT BOOKE CHAP. I. Wherein the true property of felicity consisteth The difference betwtxt the felicity of this life and the Summum bonum The life of Tymon of Athens Diuers weighty considerations touching the life of man Of the Sea-man The life of the Husband-man of the Marchant Of the Souldier Calamities of warre Of Miriam Inhumane Cruelty of the Iewes Of the Numantians The misery of Famine The insolency of warre Of Paris The estate of a Souldier truly deciphered The estate of a Lawyer The miserâ—…es of a Client NOw that wee haue shewed by diuers reasons and by the opinion of learned men and by many examples that the Felicitie of Man or his Summum bonum consisteth not in pleasure nor in riches nor in honour and glory nor yet in vertue or in the action of vertue order requireth to prosecute our discourse and proue whether we can finde out wherein this felicity doth consist and the way that leadeth to it In which discourse although in parâ—… we will deliuer our owne opinion according to that talent which God hath giuen vs yet in the principall which is contained in the last booke we will follow the opinion of learned Diuines otherwise it may be said tractent fabrilia fabri Let Smithes meddle with their Forges But the greatnesse and difficulty of the matter doth not a little terrifie me and maketh mee ready to withdrawe my pen from the paper the subiect being beyond my strength to handle as it ought and putteth me in minde of a wise answer made by Simonides the Poet to Cyrus of whom being desired to shew his opinion what God was the Poet craued three dayes respit to answer him and when the time was expired he desired double so much time more and that being come he doubled that time also giuing him to vnderstand that the more he considered of God the more difficulty he found in the matter and the further hee was from the perfect knowledge of God So in this matter though farre inferiour to the other the more I consider of it the more difficulty I seeme to finde yet the common saying doth something animate mee In arduis voluisse satest Wee haue said before that whosoeuer will search for the felicity of man hee must haue respect to the whole man which consisteth of body and soule for such part as the soule taketh in this life and in the life to come such doth the body take also whether it bee ioyes or sorrowes felicity or infelicity And though this life in continuance is nothing in respect of the life to come nor can admit any comparison or proportion betweene them the one being temporall and the other without time no more then that which hath end to that which is infinite yet because it is something in respect of time whereof it is a part we will first treat of the felicity of this life and then of that of the life to come But here riseth an ambiguity of no small importance how we may conforme and apply the things which the name of felicity seemeth to purport and our humane nature with true and Christian felicity For affliction for Christs sake in this world is the direct means to attaine to the perfect felicity of the life to come God hauing appointed to the godly no other passage but through the flame and furnace of afflictions Dulcia non meruit qui non gustauit amara Hee deserves not to eate sweet meates that never tasted of what was bitter Which seemeth to be repugnant to the name of felicity to our humane nature For the felicity of this life if we haue any respect to the imbecillity of our humanitie seemeth to looke for a contentment ioyned to the other things wherein felicity consisteth And in afflictions and troubles though men vse patience they hardly find contentment that is not to desire to be in a better estate but the propertie of felicity is to satisfie his desire and to be voide of feare And hee upon whom God bestoweth that great blessing after a quiet life in this world to inherit the ioyes of the life to come seemeth to be more happy then hee that liueth here in affliction and enioyeth the same heauenly blessednesse in the other
arrogant to take upon him to enter into the knowledge and secrets of God as to prescribe a rule by which God is to be worshipped We must flye unto God for his helpe poore wretches as we are to whom wee are not able to goe except hee vouchsafe to come downe unto vs. The Sunne cannot be seene without the Sunne no more can God be knowne without his helpe and light No man can worship God except he know him and no man can know him except hee discover himselfe to him And therefore what worship is meete for him can be knowne of none except hee vouchsafe to reveale himselfe in his word and oracles For that God cannot be worshipped but by the prescript of his owne will both the consciences of all men and God himselfe in his holy word doth testifie Esay and Matth. In vaine doe they worship mee who teach the doctrines and commandements of men And this therefore is the second marke that the religion teacheth the worshipping of God leaning upon the word of God and revealed of God himselfe But this neither is sufficient that the religion we seeke for teacheth us to worship the true God and that by Gods word and appointment for God gave us a law out of his owne mouth according to his holinesse and justice that wee might be holy like him But if we cannot of our selves know God nor how to worship him how can we after he revealed himselfe to us and gave us a law to worship him performe our duty to God and fulfill the law We ought to loue God above all things and for his sake whatsoever beareth his image though wee never knew or saw him before But who dare arrogate to himselfe such a perfect charity to love his neighbour as hee ought and for his sake that hee ought that is no otherwise than for himselfe and for God But if wee examine our coldnesse in the love of God wee shall perceive the reflexion thereof to our neighbour to bee frozen And therefore the third marke is that the religion we seeke must helpe us to a means whereby Gods justice must be satisfied without which not only all other religions are vain and of none effect but that also which seemeth to have the keeping of the worshipping of God So that the Heathens saw by instinct of nature and by reason that there is a God and that mans soveraigne good is to bee joyned with God and that some way to the same was necessary which they thought to bee any religion which they had invented to worship and adore him And hereof came their magicke and idolatry and superstitious ceremonies of their owne invention But the right way is beyond their reach and a great deale higher than it can be found out by men for there is a great difference betweene to know that God must bee worshipped and to know how hee should rightly bee worshipped Hierocles saith that religion is the study of wisedome consisting in the purgation and perfection of life by which we are joyned againe and made like to God And the way saith he to that purgation is to enter into our conscience to search out our sinnes and confesse them to God But here they are all gravelled and at a stand for of the confession of our sinnes followeth death and damnation except God that is Iustice it selfe and most good and to evill most contrary be pacified and made mercifull to us sinners But we seeke for the true and everlasting life in religion and not immortall death Seing then that the end of man in this life is to returne to God that hee may bee joyned with him in the other life which is his soveraigne good and felicity or beatitude and that the way to returne to God is religion and that as there is one true God so there can be but one true religion whose markes be to worship the true God and that by the appointment of his owne word and such as reconcileth man to God let us see what religion hath the same markes and meanes That the Israelites worshipped the true God the Creator of heaven is apparant by the confession also of some of the learned Heathens Seneca said the basest people meaning the Iewes gave lawes unto all the world that is they onely worshipped the true God the Creator of all things for the Israelites onely of all the world worshipped the true God the knowledge of whom they received from hand to hand even from the first man and how hee would bee worshipped among which people hee wrought wonderfull matters But the Painims worshipped goddes of their owne making sometimes men and sometimes divels that are enemies to God Such was the blindnesse of man in the matters of God and his vanitie and negligence in the matters pertaining to his salvation after the corruption received by his fall But it is certaine and manifest by that which hath beene said that man was placed in this world to worshippe God his Creatour which worshippe wee call religion and therefore as soone as man was in the world there was without doubt also religion for mans band and covenant towards God was made even with man the very same day that hee was created that is the duty of man towards God which is religion or godlinesse And because it is not doubted but that the first habitation of men was in the country about Damasco wee may also with reason beleeve that there the first man was created which Countries thereabout have beene of great antiquitie the habitation of the Israelites and even from the beginning of them from whom they descended who alwayes 〈◊〉 from age to age certaine bookes those which wee call the Bible or old Testament which they followed and had in great reverence as the true word of the true God in which hee did vouchsafe to reveale himselfe to men and to give them a law how to bee worshipped which bookes bee continued without intermission from the creation of the world and by little and little leadeth us even to Christ which have alwaies beene of such authority with the true 〈◊〉 that they have given no credit to any other books neither could they bee drawne from their beleese in them by no warres calamities exiles torments nor slaughter which cannot be sayd of any other people All the bookes histories or chronicles of the Romanes Grecians Egyptians or of any other nations be as yesterday in respect of the antiquitie of the Bible Therefore wee are assured in that booke is contained the true religion that is the true worshipping of the true God and Creator of the world in which hee hath revealed unto us himselfe by his owne word In the religion also contained in that book is the third marke that is the means by which men may be reconciled to God And because this is the principall part of religion to make it more plaine wee must make a repetition of some thing that hath
are vexed there is no one that troubleth and disquieteth them more than ambition and desire of honour They never content themselves with that which they have gotten but their minds are alwayes imployed in devising how to get more It is a hard thing saith Saint Augustine for him that is placed in high estate not to desire great matters Alexander the Great when hee heard a Philosopher disputing of many worlds besides this fell into a weeping as though some great cause of griefe had happened to him and being asked why he wept Because quoth he I heare of many worlds and I have not yet conquered one whole world But he that hath felicity is content with that he hath and desireth no more He is free from all perturbations and unquietnesse of mind and thinketh no man in better estate than himselfe otherwise he cannot bee accounted happie Which thing was by Cineas a verie wise man aptly given to understand to King Pyrrhus that intended great warres to enâ—…ge his dominâ—… For considering with himselfe how peaceably and happily Pyrrhus might live if he could be content with his owne kingdome as they had conference 〈◊〉 about his intended enterprise to 〈◊〉 waâ—… upon Iâ—…ly If Sir quoth Cineas the gods shew us this favour to conquer Italy what good shall wee reape by the victorie Wee may afterward sayd Byâ—… with 〈◊〉 great difficultie subdue the Greciaâ—… and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that border upon that countrie When this quoth the other is done what shall we doe then Sâ—…ilia quoth Pyrrhus will not then stand against us Shall that be the end of our waâ—…res sayd 〈◊〉 Whâ—… will stay 〈◊〉 â—…ter quoth this Monarke from passing into Afriâ—… and Carthage and from the recovery of the Kingdome of Macedon that so we may command at 〈◊〉 pleasure all Greece 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 When 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 brought all this to passe what 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pyrrhus beginning to smile We will quoth hâ—… my friend give our selves to rest and live as pleatâ—…ntly and merrily as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where he desired And what Sir quoth he letâ—… 〈◊〉 from rest at this present and from living in joy pleasure seeing wee have all things requiâ—… oâ—… seâ—…king it with so much effusion of bloud and an insâ—…ire number of perâ—… and dangers and 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where it is uncertaine whether we shall find it These speeches rather offended Pyrrhus that was carried away with the vehement passion of ambition than any thing diffwaded him from his violâ—…t purâ—…â—…d 〈◊〉 which in the end 〈◊〉 his own 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by feeding of his ambitious humout in â—…ing 〈◊〉 hee was at last laine with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his head by a woman and so lost his life and his kingdome which hee might quietly have possessed And this is the common course of the world not onely among Princes and Potentates but also among men of meane estate alwayes to aspire and desire more according to the Emperour Charles the fifths word Plus ultra to whom sometime it happeneth as it did to Esops dogge that snatching at the shadow lost the peece of meat which he had in his mouth The ambitious humour of this King that aspired to a Monarchie of many countries and kingdomes putteth mee in mind of a pretty taunt given of late yeares to the Spaniards for the like ambition A Germane writeth a booke to his countrey-men wherein hee doth perswade them to beware they bee not entrapped by the Spaniards alledging many reasons that they aspire to the Monarchy of Germanie and that they let not openly to speake that the Monarchy of the world is due to them from God and by right One writeth in the margent Hispanis monarchia divinitâ—…s sed in Vtopia debetur A monarchy is due to the Spaniâ—…ds from above but in Vtopia There is not a more dangerous passion or affection nor that hath beene the cause of greater mischiefe than ambition and desire of honour which hath beene the utter ruine and subversion of many Kingdomes and Common-wealths and the destruction of them in whom this humour hath raigned And yet many times the worthiest men and those that are â—…ndued with excellent gifts are most subject to this passion For loftie mindes naturally have an earnest desire to excell others and to bring that to passe they forbeare not to attempt any thing whether it bee right or wrong for hee is easily â—…raen to unjust things that is deâ—…ous of glory As 〈◊〉 Casar had usually in his mouth this saying of To attâ—…ne to rule and principalitie which is as it were the subject of honour glorie there is no dutie respected nor naturall affection can beare any sway or restraine or bridle the unruly and violent passions neither betweene parents and their children betweene husband and wife nor betweene â—…thren or kinsfolke They that have suffered themselves to be overcome with this passion have made shipwrack of all godlinesse of modestie of honestie and of humanitie it selfe But meere madnesse it is to desire that honour and glory that neither contenteth the 〈◊〉 nor continueth with the possessor nor is voyd of great dangers both in this life and in the life to come and is thus threatned in the Scripture most severe judgement shal be used upon those over others The meane man shall obtaine mercie but the great and strong shall suffer torments strongly Adolphus Duke of Geldria did leade his father in the night when he was going to sleep five of their miles in the deep of Winter without shoes to a most vile prison where he kept him halfe a yeare in the end whereof for feare of the Emperour and the Pope hee let him forth And when reasonable conditions were offered by the Arbitrators which had the hearing of their cause he sayd rather than he would yeeld to those conditions hee would cast his father headlong into a well and throw himselfe after An undutifull saying of an unnatural sonne Selym the great Turke and first of that name usurped the Empire by favour of the â—…zaries upon his father Bajazet and caused him to bee poysoned and slue Aâ—…mat and Corcâ—…the his two elder brothers with all his Nephewes and others of Ottemans race saying that nothing was more pleasant than to raigne when all seare of kindred was taken away Henry the fifth deprived his father by force from the Empire and caused him to dye miserably in prison Frederiche the third after he had raigned thirty yeares was miâ—…rably slaine by Manfroy his bastard sonne who after he had committed this parricide he poysoned his brother Câ—… lawfull inheritour to â—…redericke that hee might make himselfe King of Naples salyâ—… King of the Turkes hearing the acclamations and cryes which the army made to Sultan 〈◊〉 his eldest son for joy of his 〈◊〉 from Persia jealous of his owne estate caused him to be strangled in his utter chamber and cast out to the army with these words to bee cryed aloud
become bound from liberalitie to fall into covetousnesse from truth to learne falshood shifts and of a quiet man to become a vexer of others so that I see no other difference betweene the tenne plagues that scourged Egypt and the miseries that afflict suitors then that the calamities of the one were inflicted by Gods providence and the torments of the other are invented by the malice of men who by their owne toyle make themselues very Martyrs Peter de la Primandaye thus noteth and reprehendeth the abuses of this time in suites of law in his country of France Cicero complaineth of his time that many notable decrees of law were corrupted and depraved by the curious heads of the lawyers what would he doe if he were now aliue and saw the great heapes and piles of bookes with our practice in the law If he saw that holy temple of lawes so shamefully polluted and miserably prophaned where a thousand cavils and quiddities are continually coyned by such writings according to the saying of the Comicall Poet that through craft and subtilty one mischiefe is begotten vpon an other But times have beene when there were but few lawes because men thought that good manners were the best lawes and that naturall sense holpen with an vpright conscience and ioyned with due experience was the right rule to iudge by But after that men became so skilfull in suites and that offices of iustice that were wont freely to be given to them that deserved them became to bee gainefull and free from yeelding any account of their doings and set forth to sale as marchandisc for them that offered most after that men began to spice their suites with great summes of money after that lawyers began so greatly to gaine and slightly to consider of their clyents causes because they would make hast to another that waited for them with gold in his hand after that they began to write with seuen or eight lines on a side and to disguise matters with frivolous answers after that Proctors and Atturneys who in former time were to be had for nothing and appointed for certaine causes became hirelings and perpetuall after that sollicitors were suffered in the middest of them all to be as it were the skum gatherers of suites with all that rabblement of practitioners who devoure the substance of poore men as drones eate vp the hony of Bees Lastly after that the Chauncery did let loose the bridle to all sorts of expeditions and went about to teach the Iudges After these things saith he began to be practised we fell into this miserie of long suites gainfull to the craftie and wicked and very preiudiciall to plaine meaning and good men who many times had rather lose their right then hazzard their vndoing by following a suite so long by way of iustice for that commonly wee see the rightest cause frustrated by delaies by affection or by corruption We see how suites are heaped vp one vpon another and made immortall that nothing is so certaine which is not made uncertaine that no controversie is so cleare which is not obscured no contract so sure that is not vndone no sentence or judgement so advisedly given which is not made voide all mens actions open to the slanders craft malice redemptions and pollings of Lawyers the Majestie and integritie of ancient justice lost last of all that in the dealings of men now-a-dayes no shew of upright justice but only a shadow thereof remaineth This evill is become so great and growne to such extremitie that it is unpossible but that according to the course of worldly things the ruine thereof must bee at hand or at the least it is to receive some notable change within some short space For as Plato saith In a corrupt Common-wealth defiled with many vices if a man should think to bring it back againe to his first brightnesse and dignitie by correcting small faults and by curing the contagion thereof by little and little it were all one as if he should cut off one of Hydraes heads in whose place seven more did spring up But that alteration disorder whereby all evill vice was brought into the Cōmon-wealth must be plucked up by the roots For an extreme evill must have an extreme remedy And true it is that there haue bin times when both Lawyers and Physicions have bin banished out of divers countries as men rather hurtfull then profitable to the Common-wealth which argueth the same to bee no happy estate And some reason they had to maintaine their opinion because men being more temperate in their life diet not so cōtentious malicious in those dayes countries as they have bin since they needed not so greatly Physicions nor Lawyers But since that time the luxuriousnesse and intemperancie commonly used and the contentious and malicious minds of men growne to extremity have brought forth a necessary vse of both their skils Of the one to cure the disease engendred by disordered life or some way to ease the paine Of the other to helpe minister matter of contention and at length to decide the controversie for such is the necessitie of our humane condition that in many things they are driven to seeke remedie there from whence their harme commeth As the oyle of a Scorpion is a present remedie for the stinging of the Scorpion Chilo said Comitem aeris alieni ac litis esse miseriam But why Lawyers and Physicions should be coupled together in such a cōgruence I see not except because they have one cōmon end that is gaine and the manner of both their proceedings in their faculties is by evacuation Sine Causidicis satis olim fuere futuraque su◅ urbes And may not we say to these men as Accius said to the Augures Nihil credo auguribus qui aures verb◅ ditant alienos suas ut auro locupletēt domos But Princes where the abuses of this profession begin to grow to an extremity that shall see their people impoverished and thereby the lesse able to doe them service have meanes ynough to reforme them and to reduce the professors to their first integritie There is no art or science facultie or profession that in processe of time be they of thē selves ever so good or necessary that may not be corrupted by abuses and neede reformation Humanum est errare Councels were ordained to reforme errors and abuses crept into the Church Parliaments to redresse the abuses slipt into the Cōmon-wealth the authority of Princes sufficeth to reduce their subjects into good order And Princes should foresee and beware lest their Cōmon-wealths that were founded upon lawes be not overthrowne by lawes Baldus a famous man an interpretor of the civil law noteth-that Lawyers oftentimes are oppressed with sudden death But though the abuses in that facultie make the professors subject to obloquy yet they that speak worst if they yeeld them their due must confesse them to be malum necessarium
behaueth himselfe vertuously and liueth modestly The part of a wise man is not to wish for that he hath not but to vse well that he hath Anaxagoras also seemed not to thinke him happy that was rich or of great power because himselfe despised worldly wealth and possessions for the which being scorned and mocked of the people he said He maruelled not that he was of the coÌ„mon and base sort of men accounted a foole vnwise because such iudge according to externe things as they can coÌ„prehend with their senses And they that by their industry haue attained to wisdome and knowledge are for the most part lesse contented then they were before they had gotten that wisdome and also then they that be vnlearned not greatly wise For the simple ignorant because they cannot looke thorowly into the estate of things nor know how they should be managed are not troubled and vnquieted in mind so much as the wiser sort are that cannot endure with patience to see things euill done though they be not their owne which bringeth much trouble and vnquietnes to their minds which made Salomon say I gaue my heart to the vnderstaÌ„ding of wisdom learning of errors foolishnes I perceiued that in these things also is paine affliction of spirit because into much wisdom entreth much griefe and he that getteth knowledge getteth sorrow by which words it seemeth that Salomon would giue vs to vnderstand that he liued more contentedly being ignorant then when he had receiued wisedome For true it is that the ignorant liue with lesse vexation of spirit and suffer things to passe without any great griefe because their heads are not occupied with any deepe imaginations or coÌ„ceits supposing that no man knoweth more then themselues neither are they so much vnquieted with ambition desire of honour For they that be of the greatest wit deepest conceit are for the most part giuen to vice because they suffer themselues to be guided by their naturall inclination and are more subiect then others to this humor of ambition reposing their felicity in honour and glory to the attaining whereof by their excellency of wit they finde better meanes then the rest For experience teacheth vs that men commonly of sharpe iudgement are not alwayes of sound condition The consideration where of moued Aristotle aske whereof it came to passe that man being so greatly instructed was the most vniust of all creatures To which probleme he answereth that a man hath much wit and great imagination and therefore he findeth many wayes to doe euill and because by his nature he desireth delights and to be superiour to all others and of greater felicity he must of necessity offend for that these things cannot be attained without doing iniury to many The estate of Kings and Princes in the common opinion of the world is taken to be a most happy estate but to those that looke into the matter with a sound and vpright iudgement many of them seeme to be further from felicity then meaner men except they vpon whom God bestoweth his graces in greater measure as vpon some he doth For as their dignity is high and their charge great so are they more subiect to the assaults of fortune then all other earthly things and haue many occasions to mooue their affections to sorrow sometime to anger sometime to feare sometime to the inordinate desire of pleasures and such like passions more then the inferiour sort hath and therefore they need a mind strongly fortified with all manner of vertues and prepared to resist the violent assaults of those vnruly affections and temptations which hauing once gotten the vpper hand their felicity is cleane ouerthrowne as hath beene shewed before by many examples with the dangerous estate of principality by the confession of wise and mighty Emperours and Princes themselues If it bee bâ—…rd as Hesiodus saith for a man to bee good then must it bee likewise hard for a Prince without Gods speciall grace to be good For the abundance of honours and pleasures and delights whereof they see themselues possessed inflameth and allureth many of them to vice As the Romane Emperours which commanded the most flourishing common-wealth in the world after they had attained to that dignity many of them grew to be more like monsters then men The like may be said of the Assyrians and other Monarchies But to leaue the Heathens that knew not God what was Saul before he was chosen King how is his goodnesse exalted in the holy Scripture whom the Lord himselfe did elect and yet how soone was his vertue eclypsed How maruellous was the beginning of Salomons raigne who being drowned in Princes pleasures gaue himselfe within a little while a prey to women Of two and twenty Kings of Iuda there were not aboue fiue or sixe that continued in their vertue and goodnesse The like may be found in the Kings of Israel and there wanteth not examples in Christian kingdomes And what profiteth it a Prince to be Lord of many Kingdomes if he become subiect to many vices Many Princes saith a Philosopher beginne well because their nature is good and end euill because no man doth gainesay them and they commit such follies because there is great store of flatterers that deceiue them and great want of true men that should serue them And therefore Demetrins Phal aduised King Ptolomie to reade those bookes in which precepts are giuen to Princes and great States because those learned men did write those things which no man dare at any time say to Princes Agapet wrote to Iustinian aduising him that they who had need might haue easie accesse to him by reason of his exceeding high estate that he would open his eares to them that were afflicted with poverty that he might find the accesse to God open to him For a Prince should consider in what degree of dignity he is and how much he is of God preferred before others and for what cause and to what end The conversation and maners of a good Prince his court standeth with his people for so many lawes for every one frameth himselfe to follow the examples of his Prince and his Court. A Princes Court is as a Theater upon which his subjects cast their eyes Theodericus king of the Gothes writeth thus to the Senate of Rome Facilius est errare natur am quà m dissimilem sui princeps possit Rempublicam formare It is more easie for nature to erre than for a Prince to make his people to be unlike to himselfe for whether it be good or bad men wil follow their Prince In the reigne of Alexander the great most part of men gave themselves to be men of warre under Augustus Casar every man would make verses under Nero Rome was full of singers players of 〈◊〉 conjurers and juglers Adrian made all men love ancient writers In the time of Pope Leo all things at